London stocks were set to open higher on Friday, bringing a volatile week of Middle East airstrikes and shifting market sentiment to a close.
Futures suggest the FTSE 100 will open around 56 points, or 0.5%, higher on Friday. The benchmark index ended Thursday down 1.5% at 10,413.94.
In currency markets, sterling strengthened to USD1.3363 early Friday from USD1.3309 at the close of London trading the previous day. The euro also edged higher to USD1.1606 from USD1.1574, while the dollar rose slightly against the yen to JPY157.88 from JPY157.67.
On Wall Street, US markets closed lower on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6%, the S&P 500 declined 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%.
Asian markets were mixed on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6%, while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.6%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the session down 1.0%.
In commodities, gold rose to USD5,118.00 an ounce early Friday from USD5,075.16 on Thursday. Brent crude continued its climb, trading at USD85.06 a barrel compared with USD84.41 late Thursday.
